Marlin Marlins

History

The Marlin Marlins debuted in 1916 as a Class D minor league team in the six-team Central Texas League, alongside the Ennis Tigers, Mexia Gassers, Temple Governors, Terrell Terrors, and Waxahachie Buffaloes. They finished in last place that season. The league folded on July 16, 1916, before the season ended, leaving the Marlins with a 25–36 record and a sixth-place finish, 11.0 games behind the Temple Governors. The team was managed by Bob Tarleton, Bob Countryman, and Fielder Murra.

The Marlins played one more season in the Central Texas League in 1917, which began as a four-team circuit with the Ennis Tigers, Mexia Gassers, and Temple Governors/Corsicana Athletics. The league started play on May 21, 1917, and disbanded on June 6, 1916. When it folded, the Marlins had a 7–8 record, placing third, 1.5 games behind the first-place Mexia Gassers, under managers H. Sinclair and Ray Wakefield. Minor league baseball returned to Marlin in 1923 with the Marlin Bathers, a charter member of the Class D Texas Association.

The "Bathers" name came from the natural hot springs that drew tourists to the area. The six-team league included the Austin Rangers, Corsicana Oilers, Mexia Gushers, Sherman-Denison Twins, and Waco Indians.

The Bathers finished fifth with a 63–7 record under manager Walt Alexander, 14.0 games behind the Mexia Gushers. In 1924, the Bathers placed second with a 73–55 record, again managed by Walt Alexander, finishing 11.5 games behind the Corsicana Oilers. No playoffs were held, and pitcher Charles Gressett led the league with 22 wins.

The ballpark / Spring training ballparks

The Marlin teams hosted home games at Marlin City Park, located on Muni Park Road off Williams Street in Marlin, Texas. The park is still in use today as a public park with a ballpark, with entrances off Williams Street and Bridge Street. Marlin also hosted spring training for Major League teams: the Chicago White Sox (1904), St. Louis Cardinals (1905), Cincinnati Reds (1906–1907), and New York Giants (1908–1918). Teams were attracted to the mineral water baths in Marlin.

The White Sox, Cardinals, and Reds trained at a site near the fairgrounds called Fairgrounds Field or East Side Field, which may have been the site of Marlin City Park, as the park still hosts Falls County Youth fairs. The Giants used Emerson Park, noted as the first permanent spring training facility built by a Major League team, with a side field called Rimes Park and other practice areas. The ballpark was deeded to the New York Giants from the city and remained property of the Giants and later the San Francisco Giants until the 1970s.

Emerson Park was named after a local postmaster who helped develop the facility. The Giants walked one mile from the Arlington Hotel to the ballpark twice a day along the railroad tracks, and each year Marlin hosted a fish fry for the team before the Giants left for the regular season.